Sequential protooncogene expression during rat liver regeneration.

When growth is stimulated in the normally quiescent adult rat liver by partial hepatectomy, steady state levels of messenger RNAs (mRNAs) for c-fos, c-myc, and p53 increase sequentially during the prereplicative phase which precedes DNA synthesis. Levels of c-fos mRNA are elevated at least 4-fold within 15 min after partial hepatectomy and decrease rapidly by 2 h; c-myc mRNA reaches maximal levels (5-fold over normal) between 30 min and 2 h after the operation. A second, transient phase of expression for both c-fos and c-myc occurs around 8 h after partial hepatectomy. p53 mRNA levels increase between 8 and 12 h after the operation (5-fold over normal) and are reflected in an elevation of steady state levels of p53 protein between 12 and 15 h after partial hepatectomy. The levels of ras p21 protein increase much later at a time of active DNA replication and cell division. Actinomycin D injected at the time of partial hepatectomy blocks the increase in c-myc at 2 h but has no effect on c-fos mRNA levels. Actinomycin D injected at 6 h only partially blocks the increase in c-myc and p53 mRNA at 8 h but does not affect c-fos mRNA. Our results suggest that the transient and sequential expression of protooncogenes during the prereplicative stage of liver regeneration is likely to reflect events associated with entry and progression of hepatocytes into the cell cycle and can serve as markers for identifying specific humoral factors involved in liver regeneration.